Bobsledhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/bobsled
en-usFri, 18 Aug 2017 01:28:45 -0400Fri, 18 Aug 2017 01:28:45 -0400The latest news on Bobsled from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/bobsled-handle-sticks-out-at-olympics-2014-2Bobsled Malfunction Briefly Sends Sled Flying Down The Track With The Handle Sticking Outhttp://www.businessinsider.com/bobsled-handle-sticks-out-at-olympics-2014-2
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 12:23:36 -0500Tony Manfred
<p><img class="full" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5304e67e6da811a048946b74-800-/bobsled-messed-up.jpg" border="0" alt="bobsled messed up" width="800" /></p><p>In a momentarily terrifying moment, a Russian bobsled malfunctioned during the third women's bobsled heat at the Sochi Olympics.</p>
<p>The push bar on the Russian sled piloted by Nadezhda Sergeeva didn't retract back into the sled after the initial push. For a few seconds the sled was flying down the track with the bar sticking out.</p>
<p>Luckily, they were traveling at a slow speed and only had to go around one turn, so it didn't do any damage to the track or the athletes.</p>
<p>Here's the sequence...</p>
<p>The start:</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5304e3c669bedd2d1835d31d-1200-666/bobsled-malfunction-1.jpg" border="0" alt="bobsled malfunction 1" width="800" /></p>
<p>All was going according to plan:</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5304e3c8eab8ea9c5801f9ff-1200-662/bobsled-malfunction-2.jpg" border="0" alt="bobsled malfunction 2" width="800" /></p>
<p>This is when the bar is supposed to fall back into the sled:</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5304e3c66da8114639946b70-1200-655/bobsled-malfunction-3.jpg" border="0" alt="bobsled malfunction 3" width="800" /></p>
<p>Instead it got stuck:</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5304e3c86bb3f7c24ad60b3d-1200-661/bobsled-malfunction-4.jpg" border="0" alt="bobsled malfunction 4" width="800" /></p>
<p>The first turn. The bar scratches the top of the wall:</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5304e3cbecad04697601f9fa-1200-661/bobsled-malfunction-6.jpg" border="0" alt="bobsled malfunction 6" width="800" /></p>
<p>It was stuck for seven seconds:</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5304e3c7eab8ea265501f9fa-1200-669/bobsled-malfunction-5.jpg" border="0" alt="bobsled malfunction 5" width="800" /></p>
<p>Finally it fixed itself before it could do much harm, but the team finished with one of the worst times in the heat:</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5304e3cd6da811053a946b6f-1200-668/bobsled-malfunction-8.jpg" border="0" alt="bobsled malfunction 8" width="800" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bobsled-handle-sticks-out-at-olympics-2014-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-bobsledder-has-a-wardrobe-malfunction-2014-2Canadian Bobsledder Has A Wardrobe Malfunctionhttp://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-bobsledder-has-a-wardrobe-malfunction-2014-2
Sat, 15 Feb 2014 19:53:00 -0500Gus Lubin
<p>Whoops!</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>I tried on my race suit ahead of tomorrow's 2man Olympic race and its a little...er tight. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23powerbelly&amp;src=hash">#powerbelly</a> <a href="http://t.co/Ws25bERzjV">pic.twitter.com/Ws25bERzjV</a></p>
&mdash; Christopher Spring (@BobTeamSpring) <a href="https://twitter.com/BobTeamSpring/statuses/434767562409525248">February 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>
<p>Canadian bobsledder Christopher Spring races on Sunday. (Via <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/canadian-bobsledder-christopher-spring-has-a-wardrobe-malfunction-232739339.html">Yahoo Sports</a>.)</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/johnny-quinn-elevator-2014-2" >US bobsledder gets stuck in bathroom AND elevator</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/canadian-bobsledder-has-a-wardrobe-malfunction-2014-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/johnny-quinn-elevator-2014-2Olympic Bobsledder Who Had To Bust Down His Bathroom Door Gets Stuck In An Elevatorhttp://www.businessinsider.com/johnny-quinn-elevator-2014-2
Mon, 10 Feb 2014 11:05:04 -0500Tony Manfred
<p>Sochi's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sochi-hotel-photos-2014-2">creaky infrastructure</a> had been particularly unkind to American bobsledder Johnny Quinn.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Two days after <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/american-bobsledder-bathroom-door-sochi-trapped-2014-2">getting locked in his bathroom</a> in the Olympic Village and having to bash his door down, Quinn said he got stuck in an elevator on Monday.</p>
<p>He was with teammate Nick Cunningham and engineer David Cripps.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>No one is going to believe this but we just got stuck in an elevator. Ask <a href="https://twitter.com/BOBSLEDR">@BOBSLEDR</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Crippsee">@Crippsee</a> who were there... <a href="http://t.co/Rwg57CBbUU">pic.twitter.com/Rwg57CBbUU</a></p>
&mdash; Johnny Quinn (@JohnnyQuinnUSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnnyQuinnUSA/statuses/432893172084379649">February 10, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>Now we're stuck in the elevator! Can <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnnyQuinnUSA">@JohnnyQuinnUSA</a> get us out ? <a href="http://t.co/sVbyksEXlc">pic.twitter.com/sVbyksEXlc</a></p>
&mdash; David Cripps (@Crippsee) <a href="https://twitter.com/Crippsee/statuses/432887872468033536">February 10, 2014</a></blockquote>
<p>It's unclear where they were when the elevator got stuck. The vast majority of infrastructural problems we've seen have been at the media hotels &mdash; many of which are unfinished. But on Saturday <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/empty-elevator-olympic-village-2014-2">a British bobsledder in the Olympic Village</a> nearly stumbled into an empty elevator shaft:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>Wowzers! <a href="https://twitter.com/paulawalkerGB">@paulawalkerGB</a> nearly didn't have her brakewomen after walking out into this! <a href="http://t.co/7AzRxRsioX">pic.twitter.com/7AzRxRsioX</a></p>
&mdash; Rebekah Wilson (@BexGBbobsleigh) <a href="https://twitter.com/BexGBbobsleigh/statuses/432082177921392640">February 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>
<p>Here's the bathroom door Quinn bashed in on Saturday:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>...With no phone to call for help, I used my bobsled push training to break out. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SochiJailBreak&amp;src=hash">#SochiJailBreak</a> <a href="http://t.co/apZRefgvCO">pic.twitter.com/apZRefgvCO</a></p>
&mdash; Johnny Quinn (@JohnnyQuinnUSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnnyQuinnUSA/statuses/432080704776962048">February 8, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>
<p>Hopefully Quinn's luck will even out when he competes later in the Olympics.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sochi-in-summer-photos-2014-1" >Photos Of Sochi In Summer, When It's A Booming Vacation Town</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/johnny-quinn-elevator-2014-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/bmw-redesigns-us-olympic-bobsled-2014-2The US Bobsled Team Is Getting Some Help From The Germanshttp://www.businessinsider.com/bmw-redesigns-us-olympic-bobsled-2014-2
Sat, 08 Feb 2014 14:51:00 -0500Sara Silverstein
<p><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bmw-redesigns-us-olympic-bobsled-2014-2">Click here for the story &gt;</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bmw-redesigns-us-olympic-bobsled-2014-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-real-story-of-the-cool-runnings-bobsled-team-2014-2Here's The Real Story Of The 'Cool Runnings' Bobsled Team That The Movie Got Wronghttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-real-story-of-the-cool-runnings-bobsled-team-2014-2
Thu, 06 Feb 2014 17:19:00 -0500Pamela Engel
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/52f28ccdecad04ad6bc251ac-800-/jamaicanbobsled1988-1.jpg" border="0" alt="jamaicanbobsled1988" width="800" /></p><p></p>
<p>"Cool Runnings" is one of the most popular Olympics movies of the past few decades, <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/17/jamaican-bobsledder-tal-stokes-takes-to-reddit-and-reveals-cool-runnings-was-mostly-made-up.html">and it's mostly made up</a>. It's based on a true story, but a member of the unlikely Jamaican bobsled team that inspired the popular Disney film says it's largely fiction.</p>
<p>Dudley "Tal" Stokes, who was on the 1988 Olympic team that inspired "Cool Runnings," <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1onot9/i_am_dudley_tal_stokes_founding_member_of_the/">took to Reddit</a> in October to set the record straight about what the movie got wrong. "It's a feature Disney film, not much in it actually happened in real life," Stokes said on Reddit.</p>
<p>"Cool Runnings" has a cast of fictional characters who don't bear much resemblance to the real-life Jamaican bobsledders. The Jamaican bobsled team that competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada was not composed of track sprinters, as the movie might lead you to believe. The team members were actually recruited from the Jamaican army.</p>
<p>The movie also depicts the Jamaican bobsledders as outcasts, but in real life they were welcomed warmly at the 1988 Olympics, <a href="http://www.espn.co.uk/olympic-sports/sport/story/280229.html">as ESPN points out</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Here's the rest of the real story of how Jamaicans learned to bobsled &mdash; a sport that athletes from the country <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/07/sports/olympics/jamaican-bobsledders-are-back-with-fans-help.html">will still compete in this winter Olympics</a>:</strong></p>
<p>It all started when two American businessmen living in Jamaica were inspired by a local pushcart derby, <a href="http://www.jamaicabobsleighteam.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=53:crashing-start&amp;catid=34:mens-history&amp;Itemid=64">according to</a> the Jamaican Bobsleigh Federation. The men, George Fitch and William Maloney, thought the sport looked like bobsledding. They took their idea for a Jamaica bobsled team to the country's Olympic association.</p>
<p>Stokes said he got into bobsledding because a colonel in the Army told him to. From the <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1onot9/i_am_dudley_tal_stokes_founding_member_of_the/">Reddit AMA</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I got into bobsledding because I was told to go. I was in the Army at the time. The Colonel made the suggestion to me and because I was a Captain, you do as your told and obey orders.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">There were two Americans, George Finch and William Maloney who were big into push cart racing and thought it translated well to bobsledding. You mix that with the Jamaican athleticism and they thought it could work with some of our track athletes.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">They couldn&rsquo;t get anyone to actually do the sport, so they went to the Army and my Colonel. So that&rsquo;s how I became involved in it. Once there, I was hooked.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><br /></span></p>
<p>Coaches who were recruited from the U.S. and Austria helped teach the team how to bobsled. They trained in Austria and Lake Placid, N.Y.</p>
<p>Stokes had very little training before the Olympics. He said he saw a bobsled for the first time in September 1987, and by February, he was competing in the Winter Olympics.</p>
<p>The team was immensely popular at the Olympics. The bobsledders couldn't leave Olympic Village for fear of getting mobbed, according to the Jamaican Bobsleigh Federation, and they got a lot of attention from the American media.</p>
<p>It wasn't easy for the team to compete. They were using borrowed equipment, and one of their teammates got injured during training. On the team's first run during the four-man event, part of Stokes' sled collapsed. On the second day, he fell and injured his shoulder.</p>
<p>They got a fast start that day, but Stokes lost control of the sled at 85 miles per hour and crashed, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/feb/07/jamaica-bobsled-calgary-olympics">according to</a> The Guardian. The teammates were trapped underneath the sled. Unlike the inspirational scene in "Cool Runnings," the team did not lift the sled over their heads to carry it across the finish line. One of the teammates, Devon Harris, told The Guardian they "did what any team would have done" and pushed the sled to the end of the track before lifting it.</p>
<p>A popular quote from the movie &mdash; "Feel the Rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it&rsquo;s bobsled time!" &mdash; was also made up for the movie, according to Stokes.</p>
<p>Jamaica's two-man bobsled team <a href="http://www.olympic.org/news/the-jamaican-bobsleigh-team-is-the-hottest-thing-on-ice/222740">will compete in the Winter Olympics</a> this year at Sochi.</p>
<p>Here's video of the Jamaican bobsled team's Olympic debut in 1988:</p>
<p><iframe width="800" height="600" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/nm4DjRcmoPY?rel=0"></iframe></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/best-olympics-movies-2014-2#ixzz2sTfkJ3HG" >'Cool Runnings' Isn't The Best Olympics Movie Of All Time</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-real-story-of-the-cool-runnings-bobsled-team-2014-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/bmw-redesigns-us-olympic-bobsled-2014-2BMW Just Made The US The Favorite To Win Bobsled Gold At The Olympicshttp://www.businessinsider.com/bmw-redesigns-us-olympic-bobsled-2014-2
Thu, 06 Feb 2014 13:54:00 -0500Sara Silverstein
<p>The U.S. two-man bobsled team hasn't won gold since 1936. &nbsp;</p>
<p>This year they have a new bobsled, designed by BMW, that may make all the difference.</p>
<p>Before this makeover, the U.S. team had been competing with the same model for the past 20 years.</p>
<p><em>Produced by Sara Silverstein.</em></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bmw-redesigns-us-olympic-bobsled-2014-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/us-olympic-bobsled-suits-are-tight-2014-1The New US Olympic Bobsledding Suits Are Insanely Tighthttp://www.businessinsider.com/us-olympic-bobsled-suits-are-tight-2014-1
Wed, 29 Jan 2014 11:43:00 -0500Tony Manfred
<p>Olympic bobsledder Lolo Jones is trying on the suit that the U.S. team will wear in Sochi on Wednesday, and it is skin tight.</p>
<p>The suit was designed by Under Armour &mdash; which made similar aerodynamic suits for the speedskating and skeleton teams.</p>
<p>Every tenth of a second matters in bobsledding, meaning you want the suit to be as tight as possible to eliminate drag. This technology has its risks &mdash; a British bobsledder <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/winter-olympics/7033849/British-bobsleigh-rider-bursting-Lycra-suit-becomes-internet-hit.html">infamously ripped her suit in 2010</a> &mdash; but it's the state-of-the-art in the sport. It's <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-01-04/business/bs-bz-under-armour-olympics-20140104_1_matt-mirchin-armour-sochi/2">made out of UA's Coldgear compression fabric</a>, according to the Baltimore Sun.</p>
<p>Lolo's teammate and gold medal contender Elana Meyers could barely breath. As Lolo's Vine shows, it's not quite as glamorous as it seems.</p>
<p><iframe width="600" height="600" frameborder="0" src="https://vine.co/v/Mu0m2ejKJeF/embed/simple"></iframe></p>
<p>Super tight:</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52e92ca66bb3f7e44f33b5e0-620-/lolo-jones-bobsled-tight.jpg" border="0" alt="lolo jones bobsled tight" width="620" /></p>
<script async="" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hottest-athletes-sochi-russia-winter-olympics-2014-1" >The 24 Hottest Athletes At The Sochi Olympics</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/us-olympic-bobsled-suits-are-tight-2014-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-deserved-olympics-spot-2014-1The Theory That Lolo Jones Screwed A Bobsledder Out Of The Olympics Is Totally Falsehttp://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-deserved-olympics-spot-2014-1
Thu, 23 Jan 2014 10:46:00 -0500Tony Manfred
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/52e13619eab8eaf2575bb2c3-480-/lolo-jones-olympics.jpg" border="0" alt="lolo jones olympics" width="480" /></p><p>Writer Selena Roberts <a href="http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/66954036/lolo-jones-is-new-olympics-face-for-nbc">questioned the selection of Lolo Jones</a> to the Olympic bobsled team in an article for Sports On Earth this week.</p>
<p>The thesis of the article is that Jones didn't deserve to make the Olympic bobsled team on her own merits. Roberts strongly implies that she only made the team because of NBC.</p>
<p>She also implies that Katie Eberling, who she calls "a humble bobsledder from Palos Hills, Illinois," got screwed out of a place because of Jones and NBC.</p>
<p>"This is the two-straw love affair that NBC needed after losing Lindsey Vonn. Lolo is the replacement star, the sex appeal sub for the injured ski queen, a hot storyline to ride down bobsled's serpentine track," <a href="http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/66954036/lolo-jones-is-new-olympics-face-for-nbc">she writes</a>.</p>
<p>Roberts doesn't mention any actual bobsleigh results in her article to show that Jones is undeserving of the spot.</p>
<p><strong>We dug into the stats this morning, and found that the selection of Jones over Eberling is actually pretty reasonable.</strong></p>
<p>It's really a matter of recent results &mdash; a cruel but sensible "what have you done for me lately" selection rationale.</p>
<p>Jones and Eberling are both brakemen &mdash; the athletes who push the bobsled as fast as they can before hopping in the sled and letting the pilot do most of the work. Their job is simple: push the sled as fast as possible.</p>
<p>If the Olympic were held last fall (or even last December), Eberling would be the clear choice.</p>
<p>She won silver in the World Championships last February.&nbsp;She was the picked as the <a href="http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Bobsled-Skeleton-Federation/Features/2013/August/11/USA-Bobsled-Skeleton-athlete-award-recipients-announced">2013 Women's Bobsled Athlete of the Year</a> in August.&nbsp;</p>
<p>She also <a href="http://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/01/bobsled-push-championships-aja-evans-lauryn-williams-lolo-jones/">came in second in the U.S. push championships last summer</a>, compared to Lolo's fifth:</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52e12a156da811f65040e236-589-197/screen shot 2014-01-23 at 9.40.29 am.png" border="0" alt="us push bobsled championships" /></p>
<p>But all of that was last year. The Olympics are happening now.</p>
<p>Eberling has only competed in one women's two-man bobsled World Cup race in the 2014 calender year &mdash; coming in 17th in St. Moritz. Her three medal performance in the 2013/14 season (all bronzes) all came in early December.</p>
<p>Going into the Olympics, Eberling would have competed once in the previously seven weeks.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Jones is in the midst of her best season ever after getting the hang of the sport.</p>
<p>When you compare their 2013/14 World Cup stats in two-man bobsled races, they look incredibly similar:</p>
<p><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52e12f87eab8ea204a5bb2c8-1200-353/screen%20shot%202014-01-23%20at%2010.03.59%20am.png" border="0" alt="lolo jones katie eberling" width="800" /></p>
<p>*As Olympic gold medalist Steve Holcomb told us via e-mail after we published this post, the average push time statistic should be taken with a grain of salt. Since Jones and Eberling competed in different events with different tracks, you can't really compare the two times. In the one event where both women competed, Calgary, Eberling had a 0.2s push start advantage.</p>
<p>We don't know exactly why the USBSF picked Jones of Eberling. The selection process sounds admittedly ripe for shenanigans.</p>
<p>But if you just look at the stats, it's not that controversial of a choice. It looks like they just wanted to more in-form athlete.</p>
<p><span>Sure, Eberling was the better bobsledder last August, but should you really use six-month old results rather than current results?&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>There isn't some grand conspiracy in the idea that you should pick the athlete who's in better form going into the Olympics. Even if you think they should have picked Eberling because recent results shouldn't be weight too heavily, you have to acknowledge that it's a close call.</p>
<p>It's completely unfair to say Lolo Jones doesn't deserve a spot in the Olympics. It's misleading. It implies that she only gets what she has because of her fame.</p>
<p>In fact, she's really good at bobsledding. She's probably better than Katie Eberling right now. There's no conspiracy.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-deserved-olympics-spot-2014-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/crowdfunding-jamaican-bobsled-olympics-2014-1Online Crowdfunding Efforts Will Successfully Send The Jamaican Bobsled Team To The Olympicshttp://www.businessinsider.com/crowdfunding-jamaican-bobsled-olympics-2014-1
Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:56:14 -0500Jillian D'Onfro
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52debc71eab8eacc39905e66-480-/jamaica-bobsled-team-2.jpg" border="0" alt="jamaica bobsled team" width="480" /></p><p>Looks like the Jamaican bobsled team will make it to the Winter Olympics in Sochi after all, <span>thanks to crowdfunding support on the Internet</span>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>When <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jan/19/jamaica-bobsleigh-team-qualifies-winter-olympics" target="_blank">news broke</a> on Sunday that the Jamaican team had qualified for the Olympics for the first time in over 10 years, team <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">member&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Winston Watt set up a PayPal account to raise at least $40,000 to help pay for travel expenses. Soon, t</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">he online crowdfunding began in earnest.</span></p>
<p>One of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dogecoin-jamaican-bobsled-team-olympics-2014-1" target="_blank">buzziest campaigns was the $30,000 raised through Dogecoin</a>, the meme-based digital currency that started as a joke in late 2013.&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, the largest fundraising effort has been through CrowdTilt, where people have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/help-the-jamaican-bobsled-team-get-to-sochi" target="_blank">contributed more than $125,000 so far</a>, sky-rocketing past the team's $80,000 goal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>This several-day saga could make an interesting, Digital Age followup to the 1993 film <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106611/" target="_blank">"Cool Runnings</a>," based on the Jamaican bobsled team's Olympics journey in 1988.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/crowdfunding-jamaican-bobsled-olympics-2014-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-bar-fight-2013-7Lolo Jones Reportedly Got Into A Bar Fight With A Bobsled Coach's Daughterhttp://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-bar-fight-2013-7
Tue, 16 Jul 2013 16:45:00 -0400Tony Manfred
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/51bf39726bb3f7af45000015-480-/lolo-jones-bobsledding-1.jpg" border="0" alt="lolo jones bobsledding" width="480" />Olympic athlete </span><a href="http://deadspin.com/source-lolo-jones-punched-daughter-of-bobsled-official-803942441?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&amp;utm_source=deadspin_twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialflow">Lolo Jones allegedly got into a bar fight</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> with the stepdaughter of a bobsled coach, according to reports from Deadspin and radio host Amy Van Dyken-Rouen.</span></p>
<p>Deadspin reports that the fight happened last Friday at Roomers Night Club in Lake Placid, New York at around 1 a.m.</p>
<p>Jones is currently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-eyed-for-spot-on-bobsled-team-2012-10">training to make the bobsled team for the 2014 Winter Olympics</a>, and she's in Lake Placid for training.</p>
<p>Jones and fellow bobsledder Aja Evans were involved in the fight, <a href="http://deadspin.com/source-lolo-jones-punched-daughter-of-bobsled-official-803942441?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&amp;utm_source=deadspin_twitter&amp;utm_medium=socialflow">according to the Deadspin report</a>, and at one point Jones allegedly confronted the stepdaughter of Tony Carlino &mdash; a longtime bobsled coach and official who runs the track at Lake Placid.</p>
<p>A source told Deadspin that Carlino's daughter was drunk and verbally started the altercation. Lolo then allegedly pushed her to the ground and left.</p>
<p>On her <a href="http://www.foxsportsradio.com/player/?station=FSR-PR&amp;program_name=podcast&amp;program_id=FSR_Tonight.xml&amp;mid=23460377">Fox radio show last night (34-minute mark)</a>, Van Dyken-Rouen (a former Olympic swimmer) said that she heard Jones "knocked out" the girl.</p>
<p>Van Dyken-Rouen claims that we didn't hear about it until now because it was immediately covered up, saying, "Apparently they got together and said, 'No one whisper a word of this, no one say anything.'"</p>
<p>There's also this tweet from Friday night at 1:39 a.m., which has since been deleted:</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51e5ae2f6bb3f77908000006-800-277/lolo-jones-tweet-2.jpg" border="0" alt="lolo jones tweet" /></p>
<p>It should be noted that we know way less than we don't know right now.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.foxsportsradio.com/player/?station=FSR-PR&amp;program_name=podcast&amp;program_id=FSR_Tonight.xml&amp;mid=23460377">Judging by this clip</a>, Van Dyken-Rouen's radio show is pretty shock-jocky, so we probably shouldn't assume that "knocked out" means that Lolo Jones did something criminally violent.</p>
<p>Jones recently ruffled some feathers in the bobsledding community by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-made-bobsled-team-2013-6">complaining in a Vine video that she only made ~$700/year bobsledding</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-bar-fight-2013-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-looked-absolutely-petrified-in-her-first-international-bobsled-competition-2012-11Lolo Jones Looked Absolutely Petrified In Her First International Bobsled Competitionhttp://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-looked-absolutely-petrified-in-her-first-international-bobsled-competition-2012-11
Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:36:00 -0500Andrew Tredinnick
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/509d52ffecad04da1400001e/lolo-jones-bobsled.jpg" border="0" alt="Lolo Jones Bobsled" /></p><p>U.S. Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones participated in her first international bobsled competition, the World Cup Bobsled season opener today, and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2012/11/09/lolo-jones-team-win-silver-in-wcup-bobsled/1694729/">performed shockingly well</a>.</p>
<p>Jones and teammate Jazmine Fenlator took home the silver medal in the event held in Lake Placid. The pair finished .47 seconds behind eventual winners, Canada's Kaillie Humphries and Chelsea Valois.</p>
<p>It seemed laughable at first that Jones would be try to tackle a new Olympic sport, let alone bobsledding, but it's clear that her speed is cherished.</p>
<p>The story is becoming more and more intriguing. After two depressing Olympic showings where Jones (the favorite) failed to medal, it's beginning to look like her first medal may come in a much different sport than the one she's trained for her entire life.</p>
<p>The 2014 Winter Olympics are a long way off though.</p>
<p>Here's a photo when the race was about to start and a humorous piece of commentary from Jones. She has terrified eyes under that helmet:</p>
<p class="center"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/509d4faaeab8ea9f4d000012-514-536/lolo-jones-bobsled.png" border="0" alt="Lolo Jones Bobsled" /></p>
<p class="center">Here's the video:</p>
<p><object id="flashObj" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" width="480" height="270"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&amp;isUI=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="sport=wintersports&amp;sub=null&amp;sub2=null&amp;location=null&amp;videoId=1959028157001&amp;playerID=1247007370001&amp;playerKey=AQ~~,AAABIWNFy3k~,IsIN_i1DdxRQ3fqgJ28Uxv111WXNcPem&amp;domain=embed&amp;dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&amp;isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="sport=wintersports&amp;sub=null&amp;sub2=null&amp;location=null&amp;videoId=1959028157001&amp;playerID=1247007370001&amp;playerKey=AQ~~,AAABIWNFy3k~,IsIN_i1DdxRQ3fqgJ28Uxv111WXNcPem&amp;domain=embed&amp;dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="270" width="480" /></object></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lolo-jones-looked-absolutely-petrified-in-her-first-international-bobsled-competition-2012-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/t-mobile-bobsled-voice-app-for-facebook-2011-4T-Mobile Launches A Skype-Killing Voice Chat App For Facebook (DT)http://www.businessinsider.com/t-mobile-bobsled-voice-app-for-facebook-2011-4
Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:45:46 -0400Steve Kovach
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4dade4aa4bd7c81c385d0000/bobsled-t-mobile-facebook-voice-chat.jpg" border="0" alt="bobsled t-mobile facebook voice chat" /></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/t-mobile" class="hidden_link">T-Mobile</a> has <a href="http://blog.t-mobile.com/2011/04/19/bobsled-by-t-mobile-providing-free-one-touch-calling-within-facebook/">teamed with developer Vivox</a> to create a web-based voice chat app that runs in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/facebook" class="hidden_link">Facebook</a>.</p>
<p>The app is called Bobsled and lets you start voice chats with your Facebook friends from within Facebook's chat window.</p>
<p>We think there's huge potential here if it catches on, and could start eating into Skype's territory once Bobsled allows video chat and calls to landlines and mobile numbers.</p>
<p>In fact, the service works a lot like Skype now, but instead on relying on people to sign up for the service, all your Facebook friends are right there, ready to chat.</p>
<p>To use Bobsled, add the app on Facebook from the developer's page <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/bobsledbytmo/welcome.php?tu=promo&amp;st1=Vivox&amp;st2=bspr&amp;st3=041811">here</a>. You'll be asked to install a small plugin and restart your browser.</p>
<p>When you log back in to Facebook, you'll have the ability to start a voice chat with any of your friends by clicking the green phone icon next to their name.</p>
<p>That's it. With one click, you're ready to start chatting.</p>
<p>You can also record voice messages that are sent to your friend's message inbox. Click the "Send Voice Message" link at the bottom of your buddy list to record one.</p>
<p>It's a nice feature for people who use Facebook a lot to send instant messages.</p>
<p><strong>Don't Miss: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blackberry-playbook-apps-2011-4">10 Hilariously Awful PlayBook Apps</a></strong></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/t-mobile-bobsled-voice-app-for-facebook-2011-4#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>